thumb|Aerial view of [[Mont Blanc massif, an example of a massif and also the highest summit in the Alps]]

A massif () is a principal mountain mass, such as a compact portion of a mountain range, containing one or more summits (e.g. France's Massif Central). In mountaineering literature, massif is frequently used to denote the main mass of an individual mountain.

As a purely scientific term in geology, however, a "massif" is separately and more specifically defined as a section of a planet's crust that is demarcated by faults or flexures. In the movement of the crust, a massif tends to retain its internal structure while being displaced as a whole. A massif is a smaller structural unit than a tectonic plate and is considered the fourth-largest driving force in geomorphology.

The word "massif" originates from French (in which the word also means "massive"), where it is used to refer to a large mountain mass or compact group of connected mountains forming an independent portion of a range. The Face on Mars is an example of an extraterrestrial massif. Massifs may also form underwater, as with the Atlantis Massif.

List

Africa

  • Adrar des Ifoghas – Mali
  • Aïr Massif – Niger
  • Ambohiby Massif – Madagascar
  • Benna Massif – Guinea
  • Bongo Massif – Central African Republic
  • Ennedi Plateau – Chad
  • Kilimanjaro Massif – Kenya–Tanzania
  • Oban Massif – Nigeria
  • Marojejy Massif – Madagascar
  • Mulanje Massif – Malawi
  • Virunga Massif – Uganda–Rwanda–DR Congo
  • Waterberg Biosphere – South Africa

Algeria

  • Collo Massif
  • Edough Massif
  • Khachna Massif

Antarctica

  • Borg Massif
  • Craddock Massif
  • Cumpston Massif
  • Vinson Massif
  • Otway Massif

Asia

  • Annapurna – Nepal
  • Bromo-Tengger-Semeru – Indonesia
  • Chu Pong Massif – Vietnam
  • Dhaulagiri – Nepal
  • Gasherbrum – China-Pakistan
  • Kangchenjunga – Nepal–India
  • Knuckles Massif – Sri Lanka
  • Kondyor Massif – Russia
  • Kugitangtau Ridge – Turkmenistan
  • Kumgangsan – North Korea
  • Logar ultrabasite massif – Afghanistan
  • Mount Ararat – Turkey
  • Mount Everest massif (including Lhotse) – Nepal–Tibet (China)
  • Mount Kinabalu – Malaysia
  • Mount Tomuraushi – Japan
  • – Pakistan

India

  • Bundelkhand
  • Nun Kun
  • Panchchuli
  • Shillong

Iran

  • Dena
  • Hazaran
  • Kheru-Naru (Chekel)
  • Kholeno
  • Mount Damavand
  • Takht-e Suleyman Massif
  • Zard-Kuh

Kazakhstan

  • '
  • Kokshetau Massif
  • Mount Ku
  • Myrzhyk
  • '

Europe

thumb|500px|Panorama of [[Pirin|Pirin Mountain massif, Bulgaria]]

thumb|320px|' massif seen from an airplane. Part of the [[Apennine Mountains, it is located in the Abruzzo region of Italy.]]

  • Aarmassif – Switzerland
  • Ardennes Massif – France–Belgium–Luxembourg
  • Åreskutan – Sweden
  • – Austria
  • Bohemian Massif – Czech Republic
  • Ceahlău Massif – Romania
  • Gotthard Massif – Switzerland
  • Hesperian Massif – Iberian Peninsula
  • Jungfrau Massif – Switzerland
  • Mangerton Mountain – Ireland
  • Montgris – Spain
  • – Spain
  • Mont Blanc massif – Italy–France–Switzerland
  • Rhenish Massif – Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and France
  • – Rhodope Massif – Bulgaria–Greece
  • Troodos – Cyprus
  • Untersberg – Germany–Austria
  • Massif – Bulgaria

France

  • Alpilles
  • Aravis Range
  • Armorican Massif
  • Bauges Massif
  • Beaufortain Massif
  • Belledonne massif
  • Bornes Massif
  • Calanques Massif
  • Cerces Massif
  • Chablais Massif
  • Chartreuse Massif
  • Dévoluy Mountains
  • Massif des Écrins
  • Jura Mountains
  • Lauzière Massif
  • Massif de l'Esterel
  • Massif du Mercantour-Argentera
  • Monte Cinto Massif
  • Taillefer Massif
  • Queyras Massif
  • Vanoise Massif
  • Vercors Plateau
  • Vosges Mountains

Italy

  • '
  • Langkofel Group
  • Grappa Massif
  • '
  • '
  • Monte Ermada
  • Sila Massif
  • Speikboden (South Tyrol)

United Kingdom

  • Ben Nevis massif
  • Cornubian Massif
  • Long Mynd
  • Snowdon Massif
  • Ben Klibreck
  • Cairngorms massifs
  • Scafell massif

North America

Canada

  • Laurentian Massif
  • Mount Logan
  • Mount Cayley
  • Level Mountain
  • Mount Edziza
  • Mount Meager massif
  • Mount Septimus

United States

  • Adirondack Massif
  • Denali
  • Grandfather Mountain
  • Mount Juneau
  • Mount Katahdin
  • Mount Le Conte
  • Mount Shuksan
  • Mount Timpanogos
  • Shenandoah
  • French Broad